


Surprise

by MenthaLightfoot



Category: Latin Hetalia - Fandom
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 05:31:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5572723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MenthaLightfoot/pseuds/MenthaLightfoot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniela and Julia decide to scare Miguel by jumping out of his closet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Written for my Latin Hetalia OTP challenge last year. 
> 
> Also available on Tumblr: http://menthalightfoot.tumblr.com/post/106378566960/otp-challenge-day-10-doing-something-ridiculous

_Shhhh!”_ Daniela’s breath was hot against her ear, and Julia had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from giggling. They were pressed tightly together in Miguel’s closet, hiding. Julia’s heart was pumping, because Miguel was particular about his room; she was “ _never under any circumstances to enter my room, unless you can hear me choking to death through the door._ ” She responded that she would just let him choke, and Miguel had wrestled her to the floor until she said she loved him and that he was the greatest big brother in the world.

But also, she’d never been this close to Daniela before. She could smell the her perfume (so much nicer than the rancid smell of Miguel’s closet–seriously, did he _ever_ clean?) and the silkiness of her black tights, as their legs were crushed together in the small space. It was strange, but…nice.

Daniela had decided that they were going to scare Miguel. Ever since they’d gotten into the apartment, Julia had been constantly apologizing for the state of things; it was just her who cleaned, and Miguel was constantly leaving his _stuff_ everywhere, undoing all her work. It was embarrassing, to have Daniela see the apartment like that. (Though it would never look much better–all their furniture was ancient, and there were cracks in the plaster and stains on the walls. But they couldn’t afford anything better. “The roof and walls are what matter,” Miguel would say.)

Daniela smiled. “Well. Martín used to leave his football stuff out in the middle of the living room every night. It made everything _smell awful_. So one night, I hid in the closet and turned out all the lights, and waited for him to get home from practice.” She grinned. “And when he got home and turned on the light, I _jumped out of the closet like a cat and tackled him_ , before he could even get the strap of his back over his shoulder. And then I put him in a headlock until he promised not to do it anymore.”

Julia stared at her. It was hard to imagine Daniela, who was so sweet and clung to her cousins like glue, doing something like that. “Did it work?”

She nodded. “All I have to do is stand _near_ that closet, and he’ll put everything away in his room like a good boy.”

Julia didn’t really want to _hurt_ Miguel. He worked hard, and was usually really tired after he got home from work. But a _little_ scaring wouldn’t hurt, would it? (She would do just about anything, to keep him from leaving his dirty socks for her to pick up.)

And he had been acting _weird_ lately. Most of the time he was his usual, happy, stupid self, but there were days where he would be gone for hours past the end his shift, and his dinner would go cold on the table. It worried their grandpa a lot, even though most stuff just went right over his head. “You need to watch that boy, Julita. It’s just like your father used to do. Always running around, and refusing to tell anyone where he was going. Never trusted that man. Don’t let that happen to your brother.” Then he would smile with his mostly toothless gums, and pat her head. “But you’re a good girl, Julita. Just like your mother.” That always made Julia blush. She’d never really known her mother, who died a year after she was born. Their father had just disappeared.

So if nothing else, she would find out what he had been doing all this time. Because he definitely wasn’t out secretly doing his laundry. And if it was something…bad…she wanted to know. For the sake of their family.

It had turned into a game more than anything else. She and Daniela had been sitting in the closet for almost an hour, just whispering to each other and waiting for Miguel to come home. It was an amazing kind of person, who could make sitting in her brother’s stinky closet something fun.  

When they were able to quiet themselves down, they could hear her grandpa’s snoring from the living room. Daniela’s breath was warm against her cheek, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She turned her head a little, and could see the profile of Daniela’s face in the little sliver of light from the crack of the open door. She was a pretty girl–hair in soft curls, a cute little nose, and soft pink lips. Daniela had put some of her lip gloss on her when they were eating lunch the other day; it tasted like mangos, and Julia could see its little sparkles on her lips.

Daniela saw her looking, and grinned at her. Julia jumped when she felt a hand brush her knee.

“Sorry. I was trying to find your hand.”

Julia blushed. “Oh.” She put her hand on top of Daniela’s. “Here.”

“Thanks.” She squeezed it, and giggled a little. “This is great. You’ll have to come over to my house and help me scare Martín and Sebby. I forgot how fun this was!”

_Her house?_

“You…you really want me to?”

“Yeah!” Daniela’s thumb brushed her wrist. “If you can come. I know you’re busy with your family.”

“Sure. I’ll try." 

"Perfect!” Daniela smiled. “You’re really great, Julia.”  

Julia realized her hand was getting sweaty in Daniela’s grip, and she wished she could wipe it on her skirt. It was hot in the closet, and she was very aware of how close they were, and how much they were touching, just on accident.

She blushed when she realized Daniela was looking intently at her. _Is there something on my face?_

“Hold still for a second,” Daniela whispered. She leaned forward, tilting her head to the side. Julia could see the little brown flecks in her green, green eyes. She smelled mangos. _Oh._

There was a little creaking noise, and they both froze. Daniela peeked out of the crack, and shook her head. “The door’s still shut,” she whispered. The creaking got louder, and there was a little  _whoosh_ sound. 

“The window,” Julia whispered. _There’s no way that’s Miguel._

“What?”

She put her hand over Daniela’s mouth and pulled her back further into the closet, whispering right in her ear. “They’re coming in through the window. Someone’s breaking into the apartment.” Daniela froze, and gripped Julia’s hand tighter. “Switch places with me." They moved as quietly as they could, so that Julia could see out the opening. _We don’t have anything worth stealing. Miguel, where are you? Get home and kick this guy’s ass._ Her stomach turned when she thought of her grandpa, sitting in the living room in his easy chair. He’d just taken his medicine, and it made him sleepy until he had his coca. _If they go near him, I’ll kill them. No one is hurting my family._

For a moment it was quiet. There were two thunks on the floor, and the sound of bed springs. _What the hell?_ She edged the door open a little more, in case she could see whoever it was. Daniela gripped her shoulder.

She could see two socked feet. She pushed the door a little more, and  she could see a man _lying on Miguel’s bed_ , reading a book. _What the hell?_ He didn’t look like a thief, and he wasn’t really doing anything, but…

_What the fuck?_

She pursed her lips, and stood up as quietly as she could. Then she kicked the door open and screamed.

_"What the hell are you doing in my house?!?”_

The man jumped and fell off the bed, onto the floor. She tackled him, sitting on his stomach and shaking him by the shoulders. “Who are you? What are you doing in my brother’s room?" 

"Agh, get off me! Let go!" 

"Shut up and answer my questions!”

The guy tried to throw her off, but she dug her elbow into his stomach. “Answer me! If you’re here to steal, I’ll kill you!" 

"I’m not here to steal anything! Get off me and I’ll tell you!”

“ _Julita?_ ” Grandpa had woken up.

She pressed her body weight harder on him, and he wheezed. “Tell me _now!_ Who are you?”

The front door opened and closed, and she could hear talking in Quechua. The door flew open, and Miguel was there, red in the face.

“Julita!” He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her up. “What the hell are you doing? Didn’t I tell you never to come in here?”

She glared at him. “ _That’s_ what you’re worried about? This guy broke into our house!”

The man coughed and sat up. “Your sister is _insane_.”

Julia froze and stared at him. Miguel gripped her shoulder. “Go wait in your room, Julita. I’ll be there in a minute.”

She jerked away from him. “What the hell is going on? How does he know who I am?”

“Just go wait for me, Julita.”

“ _Don’t treat me like a kid_!”

“Then don’t _scream like a kid!_ ”

“What’s going on? Why is Julita upset? Miguecha, what did you do?” They both looked out into the living room. Grandpa was struggling out of his chair.

“Grandpa! Don’t get up, you’ll hurt yourself.” She ran over to his chair and took his hand, pushing down on his shoulder so he would sit back down. He eased down into the chair and looked up at her with his cloudy eyes.

“What’s wrong, Julita? What’s made you upset?”

Miguel was behind her in a moment. “Everything’s fine, Grandpa. Julita just got scared.”

“I’m not–”

Miguel glared at her and gripped her arm hard. Grandpa’s breathing was wheezy, and his hands were shaking worse than usual. His head was turning this way and that, trying to hear better.

She swallowed. “It’s okay, grandpa. I’m okay.” She kneeled in front of him and put her head on his knee, like she used to when she was little. “Everything is fine. Don’t worry, Miguecha and I were just fighting. We didn’t mean it.”

He patted her head. “Miguel, apologize to your sister.”

“ _What?_ ”

“You’ve upset her! Do as I tell you.”

Miguel sighed. “I’m _sorry_ , Julita.”

“There. Now be friends again. It’s not right, for family to act like this.” He squeezed her chin with his thumb and finger as she stood up. “Good girl.” Miguel rolled his eyes.

“Julia?” Daniela was standing in the doorway of Miguel’s room. “Should I go? I don’t want to intrude.”

Miguel pointed to Daniela. “Who’s _this_? You got all upset about Manuel, but you’re hiding someone too!”

“That’s Julita’s friend,” Grandpa said. “She came home with her after school. Don’t yell at your sister, Miguecha, she hasn’t done anything wrong. Who else was yelling? I heard another voice.”

Julia grabbed Daniela’s hand and pulled her to her bedroom, slamming the door behind them. She crouched in the middle of the room, hugging her knees close to herself.

“Julia! Julia, are you okay?” Daniela crouched next to her and rubbed her back.

She nodded against her knees. _What’s happening? Who is that guy?_ She tried to take slow breaths. “I’m fine. I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, Daniela.”

“Sit down, okay? You’re shaking. It’s going to be all right. You were so brave to do that.” Daniela put her arms around her, and rubbed her back until she relaxed. She could hear Miguel and Grandpa arguing in Quechua though the door, and she buried herself further into Daniela’s arms.

“Shhh. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

 _This woman is a saint_. “You…you must think we’re all insane,” she said into Daniela’s shirt.

Daniela chuckled. “Believe me, this isn’t even close to the level of the fights at our house. It practically causes an earthquake.”

Miguel knocked on the door a few minutes later. Daniela helped her stand up, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Julia didn’t even notice she’d been crying.

Miguel looked more guilty when she opened the door. _Good._ “I need to talk to my sister for a minute. Sorry for arguing in front of you, when you’re a guest.”

Daniela just smiled. “It’s fine. This is all my fault, really; it was my idea to hide in the closet.” She squeezed Julia’s hand, and pulled the door closed behind her.

“Seriously, who is that? I thought you didn’t have any friends,” Miguel said.

She smacked his leg. “Shut up! Of course I have friends. And if you try to get out of explaining who the hell that guy is who broke into our apartment, I’ll kick you out and you can sleep on the street!”

“Shhh, Julita, Grandpa will hear you!” He took her hand, and had her sit on the bed. “That guy is a friend of mine. I told him to come in through the window because I didn’t want him to knock on the front door.”

“Who _is he_?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “His name is Manuel Gonzalez. He’s…he’s my boyfriend.”

Julia gaped at him. “Boyfriend?”

Miguel’s ears turned red. “Yeah. We met a few months ago. I didn’t want you or Grandpa to know yet, so we’ve been meeting after work. He wasn’t supposed to come here until after you and Grandpa went to sleep.”

“That’s where you’ve been going? On dates?”

“Well…Manuel doesn’t really like to call them that, but yeah.”

A huge weight lifted off her shoulders. It was just a boyfriend. Her brother wasn’t gambling their money away, or selling drugs. He was going on dates. _What did you expect? It’s Miguel. He’s not smart enough to do that kind of stuff._

“Don’t be mad, Julita. I was going to tell you, I promise. I just…wasn’t ready yet.”

She tackled him in a hug.

“Oof!”

“I love you, Miguecha. I’m sorry for fighting with you,” she said. 

It took him a moment, but he hugged her back. “I love you too, Julita.” He kissed the top of her head.

When the let go, she shoved him. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!”

“Hey! I said I was sorry! And I promise I won’t.”

She reached up and kissed his cheek. “Okay." 

Daniela was sitting next to Grandpa’s chair in her jacket and shoes, with an Inca Kola in her hand. Miguel looked horrified. "Hey, that’s–” Julia elbowed him in the stomach. Him and his stupid Inca Kola stash. 

“It’s getting late, Julia, I should get home.” Daniela stood up. “Thank you for letting me come visit, Grandpa.”

“She’s calling him Grandpa?” Miguel whispered. Julia shushed him.

“You’re welcome. Do you need Miguel to walk you home?”

“That’s all right. I can get there by myself. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Julia walked with Daniela out onto the stairwell and shut the front door to keep the wind out. “Your family is really nice,” Daniela said. 

Julia’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I like them. Your Grandpa is really sweet. I thought he only spoke Quechua, but then he started talking to me and Manuel in perfect Spanish.”

She nodded. “He knows it, but usually he doesn’t speak it unless he needs to. Our dad was the only one in the family who didn’t speak Quechua.”

“Well, wait until you get up close and personal with Martín and Sebby. That’s true crazy. They look cute from far away, but they have a _million secrets_.” She grinned. “You’re still going to come, right? Help me scare the hell out of them?”

Julia smiled. “Yeah.”

“Great. We make the perfect team.”

Daniela took Julia’s face in her hands and kissed her. Her lips were soft and bare–she must have chewed off her lip gloss. Julia had barely started kissing back when Daniela pulled away. “Since we we were interrupted before.” She tucked a curl behind her ear. “I hope that’s okay.”

Julia nodded. She tried to speak, but the words got stuck in her throat.

Daniela kissed her cheek. “Goodnight. See you at school.”

After Daniela was out of sight, Julia said, “Goodnight.” She stood there for a few minutes, until the wind had cooled her off and was starting to make her shiver. She opened the door to their apartment.

_Time to meet this Manuel._

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the story! Just a note on Grandpa’s nickname for Miguel: -cha is a diminutive in Quechua, so “Miguecha” is a mix between the nickname “Migue” and a Quechua form of nickname. I definitely think the Prado household would be one of many nicknames. (And it’s kind of funny, that little sister Julia calls her big brother by a diminutive!)


End file.
